Marble game



ug. 30, 1938,. F. H. KING MARBLE GAME Filed sept. 14, 193e FREDERICK HKING Patented Aug. 30, 1938 UNITED STATES fie/@TENT ori-ies 9 Claims.

This invention relates to marble games and improves upon the game disclosed by my co-pending application, Serial No. 1,453, filed January 12, 1935. Said disclosed game comprises a target plate formed with a row of marble passages, a frame supporting such plate and forming an enclosure at the rear thereof, and a so-called king marble holder carried by the frame and adjustable thereon for selective registration with the passages, and comprising a trip arm actuable to forcibly dislodge the king marble from the holder.

Objects of the present invention are to improve the original arrangement of passages in the target plate, to adapt the frame to readily and accurately establish selective registration of the king marble holder with said passages, and to variously improve the vking marble holder.

These and various other objects the invention attains by the construction hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved game.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the separable, intertting relation ofthe target plate and frame members.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the king marble holder and frame member supporting such holder.

Fig. 4 is a vertical, cross-sectional view of the marble holder, taken on the line ll-li of Fig, 3.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing a king marble carried in the holder.

Fig. 6 is a top plan View of the king marble lifter and trip arm.

In these views the reference character I designates a horizontally elongated target plate held upright upon or closely adjacent to a oor or other supporting surface by a frame comprising paired side plates 2 rearwardly extending from the ends of the target plate, and a plate 3 interconnecting the rear portions of the plates 2. All of the described plates may be inexpensively formed of bre board or similar light sheet material. The connections between the plates I, 2, and 3 preferably afford a ready separation of such plates to facilitate packaging, storage, and shipment of the game. Thus the plates I and 3 have their end portions upwardly slotted as indicated at l and the plates 2 are downwardly slotted as indicated at 5, the plates thereby intertting as is clearly evident.

Formed in the plate I is a row of marble passages 6, l, and 8, the passage 6 being centered lengthwise of the plate and spaced slightly above its lower edge and being preferably circular. The two passages l arch upwardly from the lower edge of the plate, and are preferably of equal size and smaller than the passage 6 and located at each side of the passage 6. The twopassages 8 5 are still smaller and located outwardly of the passages 'I'. Above the passages ii, l, and 8 the plate I carries numbers indicating the scores earned by playing marbles through such passages. Thus a score of 50 is indicated for the passage 6. 10 10 for each of the passages l, and 20 for each passage 8. Rearwardly registered with the openings 6 and 'l are notches 9 in the upper edge of the plate 5i for engagement by a king marble holder.

The king marble holder is inexpensively formed of two sheet metal stampings, one mounted on the other. The latter comprises a panel lil engageable with the front face of the plate 3, a` hook EI for engagement with the upper edge of such plate, and a pair of spaced parallel arms l'for- 20 wardly projecting from the lateral margins of said panel. Oppositely formed in said arms is a pair of inturned tongues I2a which jointly form a seat for the king marble |26. The other'stamping, formed as an elongated strip, comprises a king marble lifter I3 between the arms l2, a downwardly projecting trip arm Ill, and a pivot member l5 interconnecting and upwardly projecting from the lifter I3 and arm I4. Said pivot member is produced by a folded portion i5 of the 30 elongated `strip and forms at its upper end a sleeve i6 journaled on a pair of. tongues il oppositely projecting from the front ends of the arms I2. Normally the trip arm lil projects downwardly and the lifter I3 rests at its rear end 35 on the hook Il, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, extending just below the seated king marble. Under impact of a` played marble, however, the trip arm is adapted to swing rearwardly, as indicated in dash lines in Fig-.73,fraising the lifter i0 I3 and king marble to the dash line position shown in said figure, and projecting the king marble forwardly and upwardly. The impetus thus communicated to the king marble is proportioned to the impact inducing angular travel of the member I3, I4, I5, and under suliicient impact the king marble will be projected forwardly above the target plate. Under lesser impact, the king marble may discharge forwardly through any of the openings 6, l, and 8, or may remain within the enclosure formed by the target plate and frame. In order that the lifter may clearr the tongues I2a, when actuated, marginal portions of the lifter are bent downwardly so as to form opposite recesses I8 affording clearance to said tongues. (See Fis. 6.)

Fig. 4 discloses that the upper margins of the arms l2 are bent slightly toward each other so that their spaced relation is slightly less than the diameter of the king marble to be received by the holder. Thus, as the king marble is inserted in the holder said arms are sprung momentarily apart, and said bent margins engage the inserted marble to assure against its accidental dislodgment from the holder due to jarring of the frame by marbles striking the target plate. When, however, the trip arm is actuated, the slight resistance offered by said bent margins to discharge of the king marble is readily overcome.

In use of the described game, the players shoot or roll marbles at the target from some definite position suitably forwardly spaced from the target, the endeavor being to shoot the marble through a selected one of the openings 6, 1, and 8. Delivery of a marble through any of said openings accrues for the player a score equal to the number marked above such opening. If a marble so delivered further encounters the trip arm I4 and thereby dislodges the king marble (see dash line showing of Fig. 3), the score accruing from the shot is doubled. If the king marble rolls forwardly and passes through one of the openings 6, 1, 8, the shot scores double the score number of the opening through which his marble was delivered, and additionally the score number of the opening through which the king marble has escaped. If the king marble escapes forwardly through the same opening by which a played marble passes through the target plate, the resulting score is three times the score nurnber of such opening. The first player whose accumulated score reaches some arbitrary total as for example, three hundred, may be considered the winner.

It is to be noted that the frame 2, 3, forms with the target plate an enclosure which may easily accommodate a considerable number of marbles. Thus, if preferred, each player may shoot a suitable predetermined number of marbles before yielding place to another, such marbles as enter said enclosure accumulating therein.

The described game is simple and inexpensive and will serve to amuse adults as well as children.

The invention is presented as including all such modifications and changes as come within the sco-pe of the following claims.

What I claim is:

l. A marble game comprising a target plate formed with a row of marble passages, a frame attached to and forming an enclosure at the rear of such plate holding the plate upright, and comprising a cross bar having its upper edge notched in approximate rearward alignment with certain of the passages to selectively position a target unit thereon.

2. A target unit comprising a member having a pair of spaced, forwardly projecting arms, jointly forming a marble support, and a combined trip arm and ejector for a marble occupying such support pivoted jointly upon the forward portions` of the paired arms, the trip arm extending normally downwardly and the ejector rearwardly.

3. A target unit comprising a supporting member forming a marble-receiving pocket having a bottom opening, and formed with a marble seat adjacent to such opening, and a combined trip arm and ejector for a marble occupying said pocket, pivoted on the supporting member, the trip arm extending normally downwardly, and the ejector projecting normally rearwardly adjacent to and below said seat.

4. A target unit as set forth in claim 3, the combined trip arm and ejector being pivoted forwardly of the pocket and the rear end portion of the ejector being normally seated on the rear portion of the pocket.

5. A target unit comprising a marble-receiving pocket having a pair of tongues projecting inwardly from opposite walls` thereof to seat a marble, and. a combined trip arm and ejector for a marble so seated, pivoted upon said pocket, the trip arm projecting normally between and below said tongues.

6. A target unit comprising a panel formed with a pair of forwardly projecting arms for receiving a marble therebetween, the upper margins of such arms being bent toward each other to overhang a marble inserted between the arms, the arms being resiliently yieldable apart to permit downward insertion of a marble therebetween, means carried by the arms for seating a marble, and a trip arm pivotally mounted on the paired arms for dislodging such marble upwardly from its seat.

'7. In a target unit, a marble receiving member comprising a pair of spaced arms, having opposed, inwardly turned projections to jointly seat a marble, and means pivoted jointly on the arms for discharging the marble from said seat.

8. A target unit as set forth in claim '7, said means comprising a trip arm extending normally downwardly, and an ejector projecting normally rearwardly adjacent to and below said projections.

9. A target unit comprising a panel formed with a pair of forwardly projecting spaced arms for receiving a marble therebetween, said arms having portions bent toward each other to overhang a marble inserted between the arms, the arms being resiliently yieldable apart to permit downward insertion of a marble therebetween, and means carried by said arms for dislodging a marble from between the arms.

FREDERICK I-I. KING. 

